Trials of the Light
by Razzack
Summary: Stopping a war between the Tower and the Reef? Done. Suicide mission to stop a threat to all Guardians on the moon? Check. Some things in life are easier than others, Raz learned this after coming back from the dead as a Guardian and now he is after more than just the truth of what is the Light.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello again fellow Guardians and readers! I had thought about this hard and with a bit of convincing from a fellow writer I am pushing the sequel to His Own Path to be done along with updating those chapters of said story. I might as well do the rest of my Destiny arc before moving on to different things. Many characters will appear in this story from the HOP, Soldier of the Light and In His Footsteps(With the reboot O Brother Where Art Thou?). So I will be opening up for more OC's in this story since I plan on making this one a little bigger than my first one. So those of you who want to have their Guardians arise and kick ass, send me some PM's, I'll let you know when the submissions are closed. Thank you all! Remember, I don't own Destiny. Bungie and Activision do.**

 **CH. Prologue- Lights of a Golden Age**

Winds howled across the once thriving landscape of the red Martian surface. The sand scraping across the skeletal remains of the once tall and imposing buildings of the city of Freehold. It used to be a city of importance, but was now being buried by the sands that the Human settlers had tried to force back. Even now this place seemed to have a haunting beauty about it.

The growing light of the morning added to the rusted structures and it made them almost appear as if they were pillars of the red sand that covered this planet's surface. Well, that was what was being mused by a Guardian as he plodded his way to the top of one of the red dunes. The Guardian paused at the top with two others and the three looked around to make sure the area was safe before speaking.

"Everyone has their jammers on?" The question went unanswered as the three looked at small disk-like objects were magnetically clamped to their armor. A small blue light blinked every few seconds to show that it was indeed active. After a few moments to confirm their equipment was working the first voice spoke again.

"You sure that it is in there?" The Guardian asked without looking at first, but the Warlock's robes brushed the sand as the Guardian swiveled to look at the others.

"Positive, I remember it being in that building." One of them pointed at a specific building, it was mostly intact, surprisingly. His helmet reflected sharply in the growing light. They had to hurry.

"That would be the Dust Palace, Titan, figures what we need is in a Cabal fortress." The third Guardian added as the trio made their way down the dune.

They wouldn't be using Sparrows, not this close to a Cabal stronghold. They needed to be silent to try and infiltrate the now dubbed "Dust Palace". Still, even through the years the city didn't seem to worn, or really that battle scarred. Since the Cabal did assault this place and even the elusive Vex had apparently shown an interest in the area. Firefights between the three factions had been common according to Vanguard reports. Stealth was key.

"So tell me, Titan, why do you think that we will find it in there?"

"I remember that the building, and a few others had been renovated for military purposes and the primary access point was in the… Dust Palace."

"A Warmind in the residential sector, who knew?"

"It wasn't residential, that was a banking building. An interplanetary company building with an already fortified structure. Made sense to make additions the hardened vaults. Civilians didn't even question it." The sole Titan commented offhandedly. He wasn't around when they installed the damned thing, but he knew about it.

.

On Earth the time difference wasn't too much different, it was still early but the sun had already peaked over the horizon. Bathing the Traveler and the Last City it protected in a warm yellow light. Even the Guardian's Tower was basking in the warmth as the crisp night air was finally fading away.

While most in the City were only now rising from their beds, most of the Guardians in the Tower had already prepared for the day. Rushing about in preparation for bounties and patrols in the wilderness of Humanity's home or her celestial neighbors. Most of them.

With an angry groan and a promise of vengeance the tiny Titan Joanna flung the alarm clock across the room where it rebounded off the wall. Continuing it's constant reminder for her to wake up. The damned thing didn't even let up as it was laying face down on the hard floor.

"For fuck's sake! I'm going to kill you Raz!" The Awoken buried her head under the pillow and swung an arm towards where her partner and apparent torture master was laying. Or was supposed to be.

Her swing missed the solid chest of the Human and bounced quickly off the mattress. Her head came out from under the pillow and she grimaced as she noticed he was gone, again. The man was making a habit of it, and it didn't help that when they did go to bed at the same time he kept her up late. The man was like a damned machine, he could stay up late and then wake up at any time he needed to.

With a huff and a groan she climbed out of bed to shut off the old fashioned alarm that was ringing it's bells at her. With all the racket she had missed her other teammate walking in to greet her this morning. The other Awoken took in the sight of Jo standing in the middle of the room with her eyes closed, alarm clock in hand and dressed in what she assumed was one of Raz's shirts. The thing went almost to the tiny woman's knees.

"Good morning, Jo, I see you are finally up." A vulgar grunt and a flipping of the bird was the greeting she received. "Good to see you are in a great mood. Where is Raz?" Jo tensed at the comment and her eyes opened slightly.

"Gone. Again." Jo sighed as her shoulders loosened and she tossed the alarm clock onto the bed dismissively. "He has been doing this shit ever since that fuckin' mission to the moon. I read the debrief and he has been honest with me about what happened. But something up there changed him." Jo paused again. "More than the Ketch did."

.

The three Guardian's marched along as quickly and quietly as they could through the last vestiges of desert and into the abandoned streets of Freehold. The Titan had taken point and was leading the other two through several buildings and sand filled streets. Avoiding what appeared to be overworked Psions and Legionnnares, if how they dragged their feet through the sand was any indication. The dead giveaway was the fact that none of them seemed to concern themselves with looking around, simply just to trudge along.

With a shake of the head the Warlock dissuaded the group from eliminating even the most remote of patrols. They could cause an upheaval in troops, and easily slip away, but the Warlock wouldn't risk it. The Titan hesitated but nodded before heading into the shadow of doorway in a nearby building. The last member of the fireteam, another Warlock, also nodded before disappearing behind the Titan.

More patrols had been found and they managed to evade them all. Something was really off about the way the Cabal were moving. They usually had unparalleled discipline and to see them getting lazy like this? It sent off all sorts of warning bells. They had even managed to slip by a sleeping Psion on sentry duty at one juncture. Something was definitely wrong with their operation and it puzzled them. What had happened here?

There answer came soon enough when they found a few corpses and the scraps of some Vex Goblins. Seems like the territory war was in full effect in the area if the Vex were making a go for Cabal strong points. Fortunately for them they didn't run into any active Vex as they traversed the darkness of different buildings. This only added more complications to the whole operation they were running.

The rest of the trek was made through hand gestures and nothing more. They did not want the Cabal's attention, not while they were now prying open a door into the Dust Palace. They also had to risk catching Vex attention if they spoke over radio frequencies. That would shoot any and all plans to Hell real quick. With that in mind the two Warlocks nearly hit the ceiling in surprise when the door slammed shut behind them as the Titan slid into the room.

A sheepish shrug was their only response to their heated gaze. Stealth mission with a Titan, right. The door did have to be pried open true, but even then the oaf could have at least guided the door closer before letting the inert hydraulics take over.

With that hiccup behind them the trio flicked on their lights and the Titan resumed the point. Having a rough idea of where they needed to go, that and the heavy plated armor versus the lighter robes of a Warlock. Miniature rockets fired at high speeds were no joke, even for a Guardian.

It had only been a few minutes of silently moving through the hallways of the Dust Palace that something was even more wrong than outside. None had noticed it at first since they were all high strung from the slamming door, but now that their nerves had settled and their lights were cutting the darkness apart, something had stood out to them. One of them finally voiced those thoughts.

"Does this place seem, oddly silent to you?" The Titan halted them outside an elevator shaft. They had to descend a few dozen floors, and this was the fastest way down.

"Yes… There were plenty of sentries and patrols. But we haven't seen any guards at all." One of the Warlocks input before latching a grappling hook on the doorframe to begin their descent.

"Don't jinx us." The other Warlock added before descending down the cable with a near silent zipping noise. The Titan shrugged before allowing the other Warlock to go before grabbing the cable and following them into the darkness.

.

"The King's are getting suspicious. They have been sending more patrols to the 'border' between us. Not to mention their more than frequent inspections of our forces and progress in projects." Baron Grutek reported to the Kell of the House of Thunder.

The Kell sat upon his throne and instead of lazing idly like most would, he was leaning forward and had his hands clasped as he thought. With a subtle shift of his head he caught the sight of the Archon and his priest speaking in hushed tones. The eccentric priest was gesturing wildly at some point he was trying to make, but he knew they were having the same discussion he was having with his Barons.

What to do with the Kings under their new Kell.

Things weren't bad, in fact they were better now that the small Human was in charge of the Kings. But it had left a sour taste in his mouth, he had led what now consisted of the Kings in rebellion against the Awoken and Wolves because they needed to be lead by their own kind. Not by a different race who was coming to terms of how the Eliksni lived and trying to alter that.

It had bothered many at first, but as time passed the issue seemed to have just fizzled away entirely. Sure, they knew who was in charge, but the Human had stayed mostly out of their business, giving them a new sense of freedom. Which therein lay the problem, the Thunder could taste freedom again. They weren't ready to give it up again and were willing to fight for it. Some of both Houses noticed this and were fairly more vocal about it.

Things between the two Houses were now getting strained and he was trying to find a way where the two might not come to blows. Hearing how she was, he was sure some Baron was taking it upon himself to agitate the Thunder. Failing to report it to his Kell, looking for glory in rooting out a potential threat. The Baron was right, he was certainly stirring up a mess of a House. One that had been trampled on by their Yellow bannered lieges for too long.

"We will wait for word from Captain Mephistopales and Warlock Snow. Once we know what their reports are we will act, but until then. Go silent, maintain order and keep your warriors prepared." The Kell leaned back after coming to his conclusion. "Until I call you again, you are dismissed." He waved an arm and the gathered Barons dispersed from before the throne.

By the Servitors they would be free again, through diplomacy, or by violence. It was only a matter of time before the instigations from the King's were too much. But until then he would play nice and make his reports as per usual. He made the obvious choice of not abandoning the research station, he had to keep up appearances. But that didn't stop him from ordering the Ketch moved to a new location and clearly not including that little detail in his report.

With a few taps at his side console he sent off his report and growled slightly, freedom, was worth the cost.

.

The darkness down here was oppressive, overly so than the sub levels they had been traversing before. Even with their rifle lights and shoulder mounted lamps they could feel the dark push in on them. The Titan pulled out a small pad before tapping a few holographic keys, trying to keep the thought of any boogeymen out of mind.

"Alright, we are almost there. Luckily for us we can get out of this crypt quickly." Putting away the pad the Titan winced as his armored boot clunked loudly on the floor. Right, so far down there would not be any sand to dampen their footsteps. They had to be more careful now.

With their pace slowed to a near crawl the Guardians passed through several hallways and connected rooms. Ignoring them for the supposed location to an entrance for a Warmind here on Mars. A piece of wondrous tech that had somehow survived not just the Collapse but the time afterward with the Cabal and Vex fighting around it. These musings were stopped abruptly as one of the Warlocks slammed into the back of the Titan, and the other followed suit. Neither of them noticing the Titan had stopped and was tilting his head as he looked in one direction. A small hallway that provided access to only two rooms before terminating in a dead end.

With a slow, but determined gait the Titan approached the wall. A hand brushing off the ancient dust that had settled on the metal slab before a small panel slid aside. With a satisfied nod he waved the others closer with one hand as he set his rifle down so he could start.

"I should have checked, but you got the access codes hidden in Entity's memory unit?" The Titan asked as he coaxed a small screen to life. It blinked a yellow light a few times before a small symbol appeared and gave way to an open text screen.

"I did, I was pleasantly surprised that the frame of the Exo unit made it back not just to Earth but back into Guardian service. Your memory coming back was a great boon, Raz." The Warlock commented before pulling out a data unit and handing it to the Titan. "How did you know it was him?"

"Well I wasn't positive, but the voice box gave me a sneaking suspicion. That, and those damned eyes of his, one of them was slightly off-centered. That was a purposeful design flaw, not battle damage or a corroded circuit." Raz took the unit and plugged it in before typing at a keypad.

"Why would they do that? Seems rather pointless." The second Warlock spoke up.

"Hell if I know, Snow, maybe to make them more like us? Human and everything." Raz shrugged as he finished typing into the small console. "There, now let's see if this will actually work."

There was a small silence in the group as they watched the wall anxiously. When Snow seemed ready to comment, the wall made a grating sound before it retracted slightly and sliding to one side with a groan. Behind it was another hallway, but it was lit rather well. The Guardian's helmets all polarized to compensate before they entered.

"Good morning, Charlemagne, we need to talk." Raz spoke out loud as the door sealed behind the team.

 **Post A/N: Once again, I hope you enjoyed this and that I won't take too long to update this. Keep on keepin' on Guardians!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: A long time coming. I know, but me trying to wait for someone else has caused this huge lapse in time. So remember everyone. Bungie and Activision own Destiny, not me.**

CH. **1 - Back in the Saddle**

Waves of water crashed against the remains of a pier in the ruins of what was once part of America. A place called Oregon, if the three on the pier had read the charts correctly. The repetitive sounds of the waves accompanied by the calls of the seagulls had an almost calm and lulling aspect to it, if it wasn't for the constant grumbling of one of the three people on the pier.

The three were withstanding a light drizzle from the gray clouds above them and staring out into the water in front of them. Two of them looked miserable while the other was braving the storm quite well. The heavy plasteel plates of the shortest gave her away as a Titan, while the other two had their cloaks wrapped around them and hoods drawn. The two Hunters grumbled about the weather and being dragged out there with the Titan who was too busy griping about other issues to care about the weather.

"Tell me again, Jo, what in the Hell are we doing out here?" The Hunter groaned with an obvious Exo undertone in his voice. He gestured to the fishing rod in his hand and glanced at the other Hunter who was huddled in his robes and hunched over his rod. Refusing to look them in the eye.

"This shit is supposed to be therapeutic! All I'm getting is more frustrated since no damn fish are biting! How do Raz and Sushi come out and do this at hours at a time?!" The woman roared as she squeezed and twisted her hands in a way to appear as if she was throttling someone, the handle started to crack under the pressure her hands were putting out. "Seriously! They leave in the morning and come back later in the day, and they have been doing it for weeks! Gaaah!"

The small woman finally snapped in both rage and even snapped her fishing rod like a twig before hurling it into the waves beneath her. The Exo Hunter sighed before launching his own rod like a spear with a nasty snarl. It sailed pretty far before plunking into the water a dozen or so feet away.

"I think I see why this is calming, I need another rod to throw." The Hunter dusted his hands off and let out a mock sigh of relaxation.

"Oh calm down Jo, Entity, you two are acting like children." A new voice chided them as a Warlock dropped behind them. Her helmet swiveled to the other Hunter still sitting silently with his fishing rod. "Travis? Nothing to say?"

The man sullenly shook his head before he held out his rod towards Entity. The Exo took it and examined it briefly before sending it hurtling into the deep. Satisfied with the day's activities, Entity planted his hands on his hips and watched the waves toss a bit more before turning to the Warlock.

"So what brought you here, Archivia? I didn't expect to see you leaving the library so soon." The other two soon joined the Exo as Archivia stepped closer. Travis grunting as he stood up and dusted off his cloak and pants. Jo snickered at him before imitating his motions in cleaning her Titan Mark and armored legs.

She was promptly ignored.

"Well I've been following up on the request that Jo has made with you about the strike you all participated on the moon." There was a palpable silence that was occasionally broken by the churning sea below. "Trying to figure out what that altar was and how it turned Guardians." Entity nodded and Travis folded his arms as he watched on.

"There isn't much on the altar, and I have requested to go in with other teams of Warlocks to study the remains. All we have managed to gather so far is that it was somehow connected to the Traveler. Our theories are pointing to that it is acting as an anchoring point for a signal of sorts."

"A signal?" Travis finally spoke.

"Exactly."

"Alright, but who was transmitting and from where?" Entity quietly asked, "and why was it connected to the Traveler?"

Those questions forced a hard silence on them as they tried to ponder the meaning of this. Archivia shook her head as she held a hand to her chin in thought. With a few words muttered to herself she looked up and spoke up.

"The answers aren't in the Tower, but they will be out there. I think I will try to speak with that envoy of the Nine. He, or it, should be in the Tower in a few days. They are a body that exists outside of the Traveler's protection. They might have an idea. Jo can I ask you to bring back some of your old contacts in the Crows?"

Jo sighed and nodded slowly. She was never a crow per se, but she was part of the organization that became the Crows to prince Uldren when he promised the Tower he would reform their clandestine group. She luckily still had some friends in power within this group, since it remained largely the same.

"Yeah, I'll see what the Reef has on any of that altar nonsense and see what else I can dig up." She paused as she cocked her hip to one side. "Did you find out what Raz and Sushi have been up to lately?" Shaking her head, Archivia frowned as she looked towards the clouded sky.

"No, and when the two go off they get to Luna and their Ghosts stop transmitting on any frequency. I can't track them at all. I tried calling in a few favors but they just vanish. Don't even land on the moon, that's just where the signal dies." Archivia explained with a huff. She knew he had Sage with him, but Raz was clever. This situation however was vexing her to no end.

"Yeah, well we can't figure out anything just standing here in the middle of Speaker knows where." Jo complained before summoning her Ghost. The rest of the Guardians mirrored her motion before vanishing to their jumpships.

.

Erunan stared dully at the pad in front of him and his Kell, the tiny woman who he had somehow fallen for. His little Guardian, and his honored leader. Teira had insisted she go through several of the reports of her House personally to oversee the morale of her people. Noble of her, if not dangerous in how others could take advantage of that kindness. He may not be able to tell her what to do exactly, but he could guide her in the few bits and pieces he had picked up over the years.

Surprisingly he didn't have to do much, and for that he was proud of her. She was growing into the position well, showing much promise to her leadership abilities. His musings were cut short when he realized she was speaking to him. His mind raced and backpedaled to remember what was spoken. Something about visitors was it? Another Kell? A delegation from the Tower or the Reef?

"You paying attention there big guy?" She snapped her fingers a couple of times to drive her point home. "We need to finish up quickly so we can get ready for the dinner." Erunan's head tilted slightly in thought, dinner? "You know? It has been almost five years since I you know, became a Guardian. So I wanted to invite the team that helped me get through the moon and back here. They should be here in about three hours."

She crossed her arms and leaned on her elbows of the small table they were working at. Exhaustion and apprehension somehow making it to her face at the same time, making her look rather… odd. Humans were complicated with the vast array of emotions they could show at one time. Sighing, she leaned into the sudden touch by her Eliksni partner. The large alien's rough hand rubbed small circles into her shoulder and she hummed in approval as his touch seemed to make her melt.

"Keep this up and you won't have the energy to make it to the table." Erunan chided lightly. "We can finish them later, besides, we don't have many left."

"Well that's because the House of Thunder are late again. Has it always been this way with them?" Teira asked suddenly.

"Well, Priest Durnisk is an odd one, at best. He does things at his own pace, so it is safe to assume that the Kell awaits for him before sending off any reports. To not waste your time coming back for more messages." The logic made sense to him, and Teira nodded after a brief moment of thought.

It hadn't taken them very long to power through the last of the reports and then to retire to their quarters to prepare for the dinner party. Teira was not surprised at all when Starr was the first to show up, the Exo Huntress was always glad to drop by and see how the fireteam's little protégé was holding up. Shortly after Prometheus had docked on the ketch with Veritas. Both of them had been polite and Veritas extended his apologies for not keeping in contact for the last few months. He followed it up by elbowing the Warlock and forcing him to apologize as well.

The two had formed a temporary team to tackle several research missions for the Warlock and had even seemed to enjoy working with one another for more than a mandatory suicide mission to the moon.

A few more minutes passed by and two more jumpships entered the Ketch's airspace and soon docked with the King's flagship. Entity and Echo dropped from their ships and offered their greetings. Echo gave Teira a hug while Entity offered her and Erunan an awkward handshake each. He was more sociable, but his demeanor towards the Eliksni was still reserved. Even after working alongside the Kings for five years.

After a solid ten minutes had passed and the gathered Guardians had been lead to the dining room and seated they began to become restless. Teira started to fidget as well as she waited for the last one of the fireteam to appear. She had even radioed to the control room to check on any jumpships in the vicinity. Nothing she had been looking for. She turned to her Ghost and it had even less to report about the missing Titan. The man had simply vanished.

With a defeated slump in her shoulders she turned from the hangar and made her way to the other Guardians with Erunan in tow. She stopped before the door, one of her guards, Kalyvaaz was waiting for her. There was a silent nod and he triggered the door sensor and Teira put on a smile before entering to enjoy the time with her friends. She didn't miss the slight twitching of Echo's mouth as he gazed past her. But he had schooled his emotions quickly and they all invited her to join them in their boisterous entertainment.

.

A small holo-emitter clicked shut as the darkness took over the small chamber once again. The slight shuffle in the low atmosphere of Luna could be heard through the filters of Snow's helmet. His helmet still poised and looking at where the holographic light had broadcasted Raz's position in the small Hive constructed hallway to him and the other member of the fireteam. The small glow-lights from the odd chandeliers didn't really show much of a silhouette of anybody from this fireteam.

It didn't bother any of them, they knew this was to be a dark operation in more ways than one.

Raz's larger form lumbered ahead of the two members, taking point and slowly guiding them along the crackling flakes that made up the stone floor. The crumbling floor was definitely designed for the far lighter forms of the Hive, and not a several hundred pound Human in heavy gear and carrying an arsenal to rival a platoon. But Snow was never going to say anything against that to the massive man. Especially here in the Hellmouth where there were no number of places for the Hive to leap out and attack them.

"Just up ahead, we are almost there."

Raz's voice was a hushed whisper over their closed unit comms. But it felt like a shout and Snow subconsciously raised his rifle in anticipation, this place was creepy. In the low lights that the Hive did have Snow managed to spot a slight reflection of the light off of the third member's helmet, the obviously Warlock modeled metal plating with a small visor. Sage had impressed Snow with the vast amount of knowledge stored in his memory about almost everything there is to know, and with his own combat prowess was another feat. The old Exo was skilled in CQC, which made him invaluable in the tight tunnels in this network. He almost felt ashamed for his choice of weapon, his trusty scout rifle.

The tunnel abruptly opened up into a larger chamber that had, for lack of any other words, been very nearly blown to pieces. The term warzone was not even close to what lay before him. Rubble and destroyed Vex lay everywhere and some were sprawled in very odd positions. How did a Hobgoblin end up with half of it attached to a wall while the other half seemed speared by a stalagmite. Odd. The battle in here must have been ferocious, brutal and chaotic.

The team silently swept into the room and seeing nothing was ready to leap out at them and try to murder them yet, they had relaxed. Still always ready for anything, if the distant howls of Hive was any indicator to what lay further in the depths of this nightmare brought to life.

He made a mental note to not slip on all the spent bullet casings littering the floor. It really was like a warzone. He paused in his speculations to watch as Raz stopped by some rubble to look in the dead optics of a Minotaur. The Titan dusted off a small spot, to reveal a massive dent in the upper chassis. The force required to do that to Vex metals was supernatural, Titan level strength. Raz was originally classified as a Striker Titan, this must have been his kill and he was getting nostalgic.

The memories must not have been that great as Arc energy started crackling around the larger man's fist. Snow's eyes caught the edge of brightly colored metal in the dust. When he got a closer look he could tell that it was a shattered piece of a Hunter helmet. He looked back at the disabled Minotaur to try and make the connection. All the Guardian's came back, didn't they?

"Through here, it's just inside."

Snow almost missed the comment as he was examining the dead machine and being lost in thought. Attempting to catch up he stopped to gaze at once had been a balcony was now just collapsed rock and buried Vex. He swore he spotted an auto rifle sticking out, but he didn't have enough time to analyze it. A massive opening in wall opening to the Hellmouth projected enough light for him to catch the Titan striding through what was the remains of a door. Sage was close behind the man and Snow was forced to jog after them so not to miss anything that could be gleaned from the other two.

"So this is the Altar?" Sage questioned quietly as he approached the dark obelisk. According to the reports it had been destroyed when the shard of the Traveler had been placed inside, but it was still relatively whole. It was strange object and it gave the old Exo an ominous feeling. Something he knew he shouldn't be feeling in a room that was called cleansed by the Vanguard and the Speaker.

Snow glanced around the room quickly and thought he caught some movement. When he looked again all he could see was the roughly hewn wall shrouded in darkness. This place was just wrong. Shadows seemed to bend and twist even in his sight. The feeling of being watched never abated when the trio approached the sole object in the room.

For all the chaos that was just in the next room, this one seemed to have been untouched. Cleaned up even, to Hive standards. Sage snapped his mind away from that thought train and chided himself for being paranoid. He started humming to himself to ease his mind, Sage examined the altar and pulled out a small device they had retrieved from Sanctum before their trip.

"Is that-?"

"A frequency reading unit from the Sanctuary? Yes it is, and it is only getting one signal. An incoming one, no broadcasts." Sage informed them as he stared at the device. Pushing a few of the dimly lit buttons he restarted his humming and Snow could feel the other Warlock narrow his eyes.

"Why?"

"A report from a Guardian indicated that there was a shrine somewhere in the Hellmouth to something out in the unknown space, it was acting as a long range transmitter. After pouring over the details of the reports of that shrine and this altar I had to confirm if they were the same."

Snow slowly shook his head, this was disturbing. The Hive had more of these altars or shrines? It had corrupted Guardians! How many more were there? Since it wasn't transmitting anything they couldn't see where all it could be going.

"I am running a trace on the signal and I'm not getting much, just something out of known space." He turned a few more dials and after a moment he stepped back. Nodding as he shut the machine down. "Alright Raz, do your thing."

Raz nodded as he approached the altar. Cracking his knuckles he seemed to focus really hard and swung out his arm to the side. A glowing, flaming hammer exploded into his hand and filled the room with a massive clanging sound. Not only did the sound make all three cringe in anxiety, Raz was also a glowing beacon of flame. His body was wreathed in it and he illuminated the whole room.

Making it alarmingly clear that this room had new tenants. Several Hive Thralls were currently detaching themselves from the far wall and one reared it's head back and screamed at the Guardians. Before it was launched into a wall from a single bullet punching through the top of it's skull. Sage stood with a hand cannon and sighted the next Hive before yelling at Raz.

"Destroy it now! We don't have time to fight whatever else will be joining us!" Raz nodded as he shook off his stupor. Raising his hammer high above his head he brought it down with an earth shattering crash. Flames exploded out of the hammer and the altar as it spread through the room and consumed the nearest of the Thralls.

Snow had sighted down his scout rifle and picked a few of the stragglers off after the Solar wave had subsided. The altar was cracked and several glowing lines could be seen, and he knew he didn't have to say anything as Raz raised his weapon to strike again.

Snow was fixated on the Titan as he seemed to be doing the impossible, until an Acolyte appeared from one of the tunnels and fired a small boomer cannon at the Titan. The man lowered his shoulder and his shields absorbed the damage and he shrugged it off as if it was nothing. Slamming his hammer into the altar again and sending another wave of Solar energy cascading around the room. Incinerating Thralls and Acolytes in the orange wave of energy.

The cracks grew and the altar had started to crumble as more energy started to leak out of it. The Hive at this point took more initiative and several more Acolytes and a few Knights dropped from holes in the upper part of the chamber. One Knight landed beside Raz and raised his sword in an attempt to bisect the tiny warrior.

Raz's hammer flew up and he used the haft to stop the Darkness infused blade above him. The Knight had grunted in annoyance and started to raise it's blade to strike again, but Raz used that to push up and send the Knight stumbling before he struck it in the knee and followed with an upward strike to it's jaw. Sending the monster back and disappearing in a burst of flame and ash.

Snow would have applauded him if he wasn't busy using his rifle to pick off the Acolytes shooting at the trio. Mostly the one's shooting in Raz's direction. Cursing he dropped his spent clip and reached an arm back and calling on the void energy he had been building in his body he channeled it into his hand and with a roar he lobbed it forward. The Nova bomb crashed into the chest of a Knight with a large Arc Boomer. Instantly ripping it apart at a molecular level, along with the Acolytes that were standing near it.

Sage's cry of pain drew his attention to the other Warlock and he paused as he witnessed the Exo ripping an arm out of it's socket from a Thrall. The mindless creatures were swarming over Sage as he was using his abilities in CQC to keep them from tearing into his more exposed areas. His motions could be compared to a river with how he dodged strikes or entered an opening one of the Hive had given him. Snow was confident the other man had it under control.

"One more time!" Sage called out and Raz complied. Giving a sharp pull, Raz dislodged a Thrall that had mounted on his back and was tearing into the man's shoulders and neck. The creature howled as it was thrown across the room and silenced suddenly by a sickening crack when it collided with the wall.

With this opening Raz swung one last time, the fires flowing around him dying as the hammer started to dull. This was it, the last swing no matter if it destroyed the altar or not. Snow wasn't sure how the Titan had kept his Light feeding the Hammer of Sol for so long, but it allowed him to do this last act. There was another resounding ring as the hammer connected with the altar and everything seemed to freeze for a moment. Everything seemed to be frozen in place as they all turned to the altar. The cracks widening and more energy leaking out and into the room.

Then the altar couldn't contain it anymore.

The resulting explosion forced Snow to cover his eyes, and he wished he hadn't. If he hadn't he would have seen the massive object that was blown into him from the exploding altar. Him and the obscenely painted object crashed to the floor outside the door they had entered and they remained on the ground as a groaning pair. Raz was definitely a large man, Snow deduced, after the Titan had rolled off of him.

"Time to go."

Snow couldn't agree more to that statement and grunted as he accepted Sage's hand to clamber up to his feet. Raz had bought them a few moments of reprieve, and also had possibly awoken every Hive that was still dormant on Luna. Snow paused to catch his breath before he was roughly jostled by something and before he could yell at someone Sage's voice called out and silenced him.

"The tunnel is collapsing! We need to go now!" The trio took off at a dead sprint through the catacombs they had so carefully made their ways through beforehand. Now it didn't matter about stealth, with the quake they had started Snow was certain that the entirety of the moon knew that something had happened.

As they sprinted there was spots of light resistance, but true to what they had wanted. They never stopped to fully confront their opposition. Snow watched as an Acolyte took a flame infused fist to it's face and the Titan who threw it never turned to finish off it's friends. Snow's own rifle barked a few times as he killed the few who were directly in their path.

The cave system was rumbling and falling apart as they made their mad dash towards the surface. Luckily it didn't take too long as they emerged into the faint light of the lunar surface. The three tore off their jammers and summoned their Ghosts so they could leave. They never spoke of what happened in there, and they never would to any other without the jammers active. The Ghosts would ask and inquire about why there was a discrepancy in the time files. But they would keep it from the machines, and in turn, the Traveler.

.

"You have several pending messages and missed communication attempts."

"I know, and I know where they came from. Plot a course for the Ketch of the Kings. I'm late to the party as it is."

"Understood, jumping." There was a pause. "Should I notify them that we are on route?"

"No Twinkles. I'll surprise them. Well, for the most part. The Ketch's control tower will know I'm there. Ah well."

.

Teira was once again standing in the hangar saying her goodbyes to the five Guardian's assembled before her. They all meant so much to her and she really didn't want them to leave yet. But she had duties that she had to attend to and so did they. They would meet up again. As they started to filter out, she also could feel her energy draining from the stresses of the day. She would definitely need to attend to her duties in the morning.

Starr was the last to leave, alongside Echo. The two stood their silently before the Exo approached Teira.

"Look, I'm sorry not all of us could be here for you today. No one could seem to find the muscle-head. But when we do find him-" Starr's rant and promise of swift vengeance was cut off as a sonic boom was heard followed by the sound of a rapid deceleration from a jumpship.

All three turned to look outside the hangar door and spotted a yellow and grey ship trying to slow itself down from colliding rapidly with the Ketch.

"Speak of the oversized Devil himself."

"I'm sure we are all aware he is the furthest thing from a Devil, aside from the Speaker." Echo commented quietly. The man was still sporting a frown from the tardiness of his friend.

The jumpship landed heavily on the pad and the bay doors opened to allow the brightly colored Titan to disembark with a package in his hand. But they stopped focusing on that when they saw the condition of his gear. His armor was scratched and had deep gouges in several places. His visor was cracked and the majority of his yellow and green shader paint had been singed off.

"Raz! You're late!" Starr shouted at him.

 **P/N: As you know, Teira, Starr and the named Fallen that I know belong to RC. Thakji and Entity belong to Reilly. Travis belongs to LazyPersons. My next chapter is done and ready, but to keep myself ahead with some nice breathing room I will wait a week before submitting it. Thank you and remember, Guardians! Keep on keepin' on!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: First, Bungie and Activision own Destiny, not me. Second, sorry about this newer delay. Been fighting my laptop to stay connected to the internet. I think I need to get a new one... Damn.**

 **CH. 2: Bump in the Night**

Cold and lifeless, that was all that surrounded the young Eliksni as he stared towards the small altar built before him. His quarters felt equally lifeless as they were dark and held little décor. The obvious focus being on the armor and weapon rack that had the small altar before it. After a few moments the warrior closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. Bringing peace to his war torn mind. But as the darkness consumed his vision, his mind exploded into action. Visions of his many fights returning along with his many kills and his narrow victories over his foes. But lastly an image of a solitary dead Captain lay before him. Broken and beaten the legendary warrior's own weapon pierced through his body, and left to rot with no honor by his enemy.

The Eliksni, Avarek Tai the son of the deceased Elder Captain Sorric Tai, snapped his eyes open as he stared at the worn and beaten armor that had belonged to his father. It had seen many years of conflict and even more under the use of Avarek, one day this armor and weapon would be a true relic and something all the sapient species would come to revere and fear. If not through his father's or his own exploits, it would fall on his own child to continue this litany of rage.

He brooded on the legend he was building for himself and of his father for a moment longer before he grunted and lumbered up to his feet. Bowing his head to the altar and armor once more he reached forward as he did so. Slowly removing the armor piece by piece, he placed it upon his body and said murmured hunting prayers with each piece. He would be after a large prey this day and it would do to be prepared and possibly petition for a little help from the other side of the Great Storm.

Avarek almost snorted in disgust of the thought of the Great Storm, what came to be after the Whirlwind had torn his people apart. He kept his reaction in as he finished armoring himself. He would not dishonor his father, nor their traditions in this place. He was devoted to honor and glory of his name. With that he slid the helmet over his head and let the clamps seal automatically. The armor was still slightly larger than he was, but he was growing into it quite well.

With a final prayer he took the shock spear that was still mounted and slowly started to spin it in his hands. Testing the weight that he already knew was balanced very well. After so many years of use it was still reliable and sturdy. Taking a few practice slashes and jabs for good measure, Avarek deemed the weapon ready and made his way out. Pausing by the door he looked over his shoulder at the altar once more. His mother and father would be proud of him when he passed through the Storm one day to greet them. He knew it.

.

"You are very late. You know that, right?" Starr's synthetic voice called out to the Titan who had descended from his ship. Her companions spared her a glance before they went back to analyzing how badly Raz's armor looked. The man looked like he had been rolling in a bed of flaming swords.

"Not only that," Teira started, "you look like you are about to keel over, Old Man." She heard the larger man grunt in amusement and she let a smile touch her lips as she approached him. "But what did happen to you?"

She would have pressed him with more questions if he hadn't abruptly held out the bundle in front of her. She looked at it pensively before taking it from his hand and was surprised by the sudden weight it brought down on her arms. It was slightly larger than most conventional gifts. But she had learned long ago that any and all of her friends were anything but conventional. So she chalked it up to his own eccentric behaviors.

"Was running a bounty on Luna, fought some Hive." Raz flexed one of his arms comically. "Plus this, 'Old Man' has a few new tricks he has been practicing. That is why I appear a little well done." His helmet dematerialized and they all could see a smirk plastered to his face as he regarded them.

Teira nodded and chuckled lightly as she started to unwrap the bundle. She paused as she saw the handle and the cross guard it led to. It was another sword, it was huge and she looked at Raz for clarification.

"Well, I figured you would want another one. The one you currently have is from the American Civil War, yeah? This one is a Zwei-Hander. An old German weapon. Spotted this little guy when I was running patrol and I had Twinkles clean it up for you." Raz watched her as she continued to examine the weapon as she pulled the rest of the oiled cloth off of it. Revealing the long gleaming blade in the light of the hangar.

"Thank you Raz, really." She murmured. "I wish you could have come earlier, or had invited us to the moon with you." She looked back up and she paused as she saw a different look in Raz's blue eyes. They were cold and distant. But it was gone quickly and they were warm and inviting once again. But she knew she had seen it.

"Well, it was rather quick to happen." Raz began as he spread his hands out. "A hapless Warlock implored me to aid him on this venture and said we had to leave immediately. We went rather deep into the Hellmouth so forgive me if I am a little tired."

"No, I understand. I had a full day as well and should retire myself." The two nodded. Teira hadn't noticed that the two Hunters had already left, probably had stated hurried goodbyes before leaving. "I wish you well, Raz." The man nodded in return.

"Rest well, young Teira. These days do not grow easy." With that said the Titan departed. Leaving her to think on his last choice of words and ultimately shelve them for later. The man was growing more complicated.

"Teira." The voice of Erunan came softly beside her. "The report from the Thunder came in, unless you would rather see it in the morning." She shook her head at her partner.

"No, let's go see to it."

.

There were few Guardians up and about at this time of night in the Tower. Mostly just stragglers from the lounge or late missions. They all looked drunken with how they all stumbled around in an attempt to get to their rooms. Some didn't make it very far, and it was up to the custodial Frames to lug the collapsed "Hopes of the Light" back to their rooms and into their beds. Some of them were just pathetic.

Jo spat on the grass beside her as she watched a Hunter collapse when attempting to climb a flight of stairs. The man had failed on the first step and just laid stupidly on the ground groaning like a zombie. Totally worthless, just like that stupid oaf she had been worrying about all day. As well as the past week, all of this besides the last year and a half he had been vanishing randomly. She ground her teeth together as she reached beside her and pulled another bottle out of the case near her. Ripping the cap off with just a twist of her fingers she felt the burn of alcohol as she downed half the bottle in a single go.

Exhaling sharply after she swallowed she closed her eyes. Damn. This is what she was reduced to, she knew better than to wallow in booze. She had done that before when she first became a Guardian and then she met Sage and soon after that, Archivia. If the two knew she was out here getting shit faced drunk, well they would hang her by her thumbs outside the Vanguard's chambers is what they would likely do.

"It's all that stupid man's fault. He keeps leaving without a word and never stays long when he does come back." She groaned as she went to drink again.

The bottle never touched her lips and she opened her eyes and stared stupidly at her hand. Trying to figure out how the bottle had vanished and was not filling her with the bitter elixir of forgetfulness before leading her into a hangover in the morning. When the empty bottle clinked against the small grouping she already had, her glowing eyes swept slowly to the large man who had finished it for her.

Dressed in dark jeans, and a simple blue v-neck shirt was the same man she was blaming for her drinking problems. She smiled stupidly to herself as she looked at him again. She really did know how to dress him, the goof had apparently never gone shopping on his own. Or so she claimed, and so she had gotten rid of anything he had picked for himself. Only for her to replace his whole wardrobe with what she thought would look good on him, well, for her at least.

"Going to share the others with me? Or am I going to have to steal those too?" He questioned her with a raised eyebrow. The smirk he had showed a few teeth and she subconsciously handed him another so he could start that one. Noticing that she was still staring at him he looked at her. "What?"

"You have a new scar." She muttered as she ran a hand over the angry red scar that started near his collarbone and ended halfway up his neck. "What were you fighting?" She wasn't going to ask stupid questions, deeper into the Darkness one ventured the more likely you were to scar. The Ghosts could only do so much with the Darkness trying to snuff them out while inside their Guardians.

"This was from a Thrall. Was in the Hellmouth for a bounty with Sushi. Things went sideways pretty fast." Raz finished as he sipped his drink while he thought.

"You should have called for backup before you left. You can't keep going on these reckless missions." She chided him as she opened a new bottle for herself. "Welcome back, love." She added the comment right before covering her mouth with the bottle and taking a few swallows.

"I missed you too, Jo." Raz smiled at her and she felt her cheeks heat up under his gaze and forcing her to turn her head to hide her blush. "So after we finish off the case shall we head up to our room?"

Raz didn't need an answer to that question, he got it in how Jo had shifted closer to him and was leaning against him while they drank in silence. Her small hand rested on his thigh as he propped his arm behind her so she wouldn't tip if she decided to lean in a different direction. He kicked his legs out and looked up at the stars that weren't blocked by the constant storms around the city, or by the Traveler. He grimaced slightly, but went back to staring at the stars. They always seemed to relax him. The fact that they illuminated the night sky in patterns and were silent. Not doing anything to harm him or disturb him in any way. It was just peaceful, and looking up at them with Jo put a smile on his face.

It didn't take him long to feel Jo nuzzling into his chest as she tried to move closer. He let a smile grow on his face as he took another drink from the bottle. With his momentary shift the small Awoken woman let out a groan of displeasure before she wrapped an arm around his torso and a leg over his. He chuckled at what he had forgotten. Jo gets touchy and affectionate when she was drunk. This would cut their late night short.

With a sigh Raz set to work at separating himself from the clingy Awoken. After a few minutes of trying he did manage it and she had curled up into a small ball on the grass. Making sure she was mostly asleep, Raz started cleaning up the bottles and disposing of the garbage that had accumulated. The Frames had enough work as it is with the passed out Guardians and local workers. He could clean up their own mess.

With the trash and extra bottles taken care of he returned to see Jo was still laying there and lightly snoring. This was good, it would make getting her up to the room that much easier. Still opting for silence Raz scooped Jo into his arms and made his way to the Titan tower. Neither of them needed to wake up early for any reason that he could recall, and with how much she had been drinking she wouldn't want to.

.

Creatures of Darkness were odd, strange was too much, but odd fit them just right. They were all opposed to the Traveler and everything it stood for in the name of the 'Light'. But it seemed that the terms for Light and Darkness weren't as clean cut as many seemed to think. Many believed that the Hive were evil, true beings of the Darkness. Those people were right, they hungered for the Light and would snuff out any resistance that was in their way. The Vex worshipped the Darkness in their own way, and some Warlocks and Cryptarchs theorized that they held themselves in a higher echelon of Darkness. Thus spawning their animosity with the other beings of the Dark. The Cabal were not beings of Darkness, but were still in some ways evil.

That left the Eliksni, the Fallen, as they too in some aspects followed the Darkness. Their desire for the Traveler had led them down darker paths than some would have allowed in the past. But in these times, it didn't really matter, they would live with their mistakes. Learn from them even. Some creatures didn't learn however, and the main suspects were those of Darkness. The Hive specifically at this time.

Avarek silently stalked through the tunnels that had been carved into the Earth's moon by the Hive. A bounty had been placed on a Knight who resided in this section of the Hellmouth and the one making the request had specifically petitioned for him. At least his name was gaining some renown, he snorted in his helmet at the thought.

The sudden sound in the silence had him stop stock still until he realized that it was of his own making. He was getting jumpy here in the tunnels. But who could blame him? The Hive were deadly and the way they moved sometimes did not seem natural. A sudden shift caught his attention and he swung his spear without a second thought. The Arc energy in it crackling to life at the tip and illuminating the tunnel slightly as it plunged into the chest of an Acolyte. Most likely investigating the noise he had made.

There went the element of surprise. For the most part at least.

With a renewed vigor Avarek moved deeper into the tunnels before meeting his next obstacle, one he had been running into a lot down here. Collapsed tunnels. This was most likely why he hadn't run into too many patrols of the Hive. With all the tunnels that had apparently collapsed recently they weren't able to move about with the same speed they normally did. This played in favor and against him in the same way since he couldn't move through the same tunnels.

A low growl creeped out of his throat as he turned to find another way deeper into the network of tunnels. He had no idea where this bounty was, a Knight named Thakji. The specifics of the bounty weren't that great either, he knew next to nothing about this Knight. Only that the last time it was seen it was heavily injured, missing an eye and it was moving with a limp. So when he did find it, it couldn't move fast, if he could ever find the thing.

In his internal monologue he almost missed a heavy door in a small tunnel that suddenly branched off to the side. Avarek paused as he looked down the way he came and where he was intending to go before this. How had he missed this door before? More importantly, what could the Hive be hiding behind here and would his target be behind said door?

Indolence was definitely not something he was big on and he closed in on the door hastily. He paused as he spotted the runes on several chains and cursed. What could he do now? This door was sealed pretty well, even by Hive standards. He really wanted to see the other side now and settle his curiosity. With his mind made up he set his spear down against the wall and quickly went to work on the first of the runes. He knew the basics of decrypting most locks, that included these Hive made ones, thanks to his father. He also made sure to keep an ear open for any sounds that could give away a sneak attack from any of the Hive warriors.

His dedication to his past teachings was rewarded when the first rune cracked and crumbled into ash. Leaving the chains to follow suit and allowing him to proceed to the next rune. Avarek followed this same procedure for the next three runes, each sound he heard sending him into a paralyzed stall as he waited for any other sounds to follow. Oddly enough he was never set upon by the Hive. Maybe the cave ins were more wide spread than he initially estimated, leaving him essentially isolated from the Hive.

As the final chain crumbled before him, he gave a triumphant huff when he pushed open the doors. His huff was stifled when he attempted to keep his stomach from leaving his mouth. The stench was too great for the scrubbers on his helmet and the sight before him in the dim lights was appalling, to say the least. Bodies, twisted and broken lay in piles in the massive room before him. In reality, it was one large pile, with just small gaps in the corpses that it comprised of.

Swallowing hard, Avarek let his eyes roam the room studiously. He had seen many things in his bounty hunting life. But the atrocities before him now? He wasn't even that sick to try and fuse body parts of Hive onto another species. As he slowly entered the room he noticed that there was a consistency to the bodies here. They were all Guardians, or were Guardians. Many had mutated beyond normal recognition and the only telling traits were the armor pieces that still adorned their bodies. What they had been subjected to was beyond him, and the reason why was suddenly not so appealing anymore. He could do without learning all the secrets of this place.

A sudden shift caught his attention and he raised his weapon in anticipation, his eyes snapping towards the motion. That was when he saw it, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he regarded the monster before him. A Knight, easily twice his size, and wielding a massive blade that was stained with blood from many races. He knew the Knight was analyzing him, deciding if it was going to be easy pickings or not. The two remaining eyes glowed balefully in the dim atmosphere, and they were met with equal hate and malice from the Eliksni's four.

A rumbling laugh escaped the chest of the Knight as it stood, a slight stoop on one side signaled that this was indeed his target. The Knight Thakji, and he would enjoy ending this monster. Even if it wasn't the master of this chamber and just it's guardian, it still knew about what had occurred here. Most of all though, this thing was his target, and he was going to get paid to kill it.

Without another thought he charged the monstrosity, his spear crackling to life once more in the dim light of the chamber. Much to Avarek's chagrin the behemoth easily blocked the downward strike with it's wicked blade. Thakji's deceptive speed held true as it lashed out with a foot and caught the Eliksni in the torso. Knocking the air out of his lungs and the warrior leaped back, his mind reeling as his nerves tried to recover from the sudden strike.

Returning to a full stance, Avarek got low and gripped the spear loosely. Brute force unfortunately would not win him this battle, no, he needed to be more cunning and wily than the Hive. He was also pretty sure his armor was bent where the Knight had slammed it's foot into him. A problem for a different day, for now he had to focus on his prey.

Circling the Knight carefully, Avarek tried to keep himself from tripping over the mounds of bodies, armor and weapons. It was here he realized that there were fellow Eliksni, Cabal and even the elusive Vex amongst the corpses. The numbers were few compared to the mountain of Guardians. He guessed they didn't have much use for the other species in their horror chambers here.

An almost feral growl escaped his throat. This thing must die! His honor now demanded it, he would avenge his fallen brothers and sisters. His growl turned into a battle roar. This incited the Knight to charge and try to bisect the smaller opponent, the sword's swing slammed hard into a body with a dull thunk and the sound of cracking armor plates and bones.

Avarek followed up the missed strike with his spear piercing the off-hand arm of the Hive warrior. Thakji roared in pain and swatted his opponent away, the Eliksni bounced off a pile of bodies before nimbly rolling back to his hands and feet. He needed a new weapon he noted as Thakji dislodged the Arc emitting weapon and tossing it aside lazily. His hand found purchase on a weapon and without hesitation he yanked it out of the pile and threw it towards the Knight.

He was lucky it was a Hunter's throwing knife.

The blade flew true and sank into the weaker flesh by the Knight's groin. Another holler of pain and the knife was removed and tossed away into another pile. This distraction was all that was needed as Aravek slammed his shoulder into the lower body of his opponent. The Knight was stunned momentarily before it started to tip back, and proceeded to fall and crash into a large pile of corpses. It cushioned his fall, but it wasn't a far enough fall to allow him to dislodge the Fallen currently grappling with him.

With some grunting and lots of effort, Thakji got the Fallen dismounted and tossed to the side. Gripping the massive blade again and using it to prop himself up. The Knight was not prepared for the Fallen to have recovered so quickly, or for it to be armed with the damned knife again. This time it was not thrown but plunged into the shoulder area. A growl of pain was heard, and then he felt it. The sharp twist and the sudden pressure in one direction.

The vile little creature was trying to remove the armored plate on his chest!

With a fierceness that surprised both of them he dropped his blade and with a mighty roar he grabbed the Fallen and pried him off and threw him across the room. His reprieve didn't last long as he looked at the slightly exposed chest and groaned. An Arc grenade had been planted in the barely large enough gap created in his armor. Calling upon the darkness he formed a tangible wall between him and the Fallen. His wall of Darkness would regenerate him just enough where he would survive, or so he hoped.

The grenade exploded in a dazzling burst of blue. Aravek could not see what had befallen the Knight, for the wall still stood. He wouldn't get his hopes up yet. Being too optimistic was a bad thing. The edges of the Darkness started to crack and crumble, it all soon started to turn to ash before him. When enough had fallen away to nothing his eyes narrowed.

Thakji was gone.

The hunt continued.

 **Post A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope I keep people entertained with this. Also, for anyone with the new DLC I am looking for a Raid Team. I already have a slot reserved for my buddy Reilly who owns Entity. So it would be a Raid with Entity and Raz at least, Starr may join us as well. So if you want in, drop me a message and my Gamertag on Live is the same as my name here. Razzack. Keep on keepin' on Guardians!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Well this has been a long time coming, sorry for the delay. I hit a hard wall of writer's block after once of my scenes. Hopefully you can forgive me, cause I mean, so far I'm at an average of 4,400 words or so. By how my last story was, that is a huge improvement in size. More time, more words and hopefully better quality. So first off, remember. Bungie and Activision own Destiny, not I. Secondly, enjoy.**

 **CH 3: Sacrificial Paradise**

Vast snow covered mountains covered the distance and it was a breathtaking sight to behold. Even Erunan could appreciate the view through the view port as the Skiff lazily made it's way over the mountains into the territory of the Thunder. Two smaller ships had intercepted them as soon as they had entered the mountain range. It was comforting and terrifying at the same time. The power that their vassal House held was astounding.

"You know I could have handled this all on my own, and with you of course." Teira's voice broke him out of his musings and his head swiveled to the flight station to see her looking out the front with the pilots. She had clearly been talking to him and about the dozen or so heavily armed warriors as an escort. "I know I've only ever met them on my Ketch, but they still are part of us." Her head turned and she met his eyes, any argument he previously had quickly went out the proverbial window when he stared into her eyes.

A very distinct cough knocked his thoughts loose again and he turned to glare sharply at Kalyvaaz who could be seen inspecting his weapon idly. Erunan broke his gaze to look back at his mate.

"The Thunder serve the Kings, but like most Houses indentured so, they may despise us." Looking back out the window he spotted an old satellite facility and several hovering Skiffs patrolling the area. He could also make out a few Walkers, modified and advanced more than anything they even had. It seemed they did not part with all their technology. A shame.

"I still don't like how that is, I do hope to change that." Teira commented as she approached Erunan. "If we can change how our status is with them, then we all could benefit. Don't you agree?" Erunan couldn't exactly argue with her logic, there were several holes in it and many things she didn't understand. But seeing the massive turret of one of the Walkers track them, he understood. He clearly understood where they would be if they were more allies, or enemies.

.

Distant howls could be heard echoing through the corridor and several cavernous doorways. These echoes did nothing to distract Avarek during his hunt. More of the Hive had appeared since he had gone through the chamber of the dead and were intent on impeding his process. It didn't matter, they had been struck down easily with his spear. Nothing would keep him from his prey, claiming his bounty. From killing this thing.

The haft of his spear cracked against a Thrall as he spun it around him. The spear's tip slicing down another as he turned his focus to a pair of charging Knights with a group of Acolytes. Avarek growled as he ducked beneath a swing from one of the Knights. Running his spear through the one who left itself open, he quickly spun to the side. The dying Knight howled as the armor on it's chest shattered with the spear's blade tearing out through the side.

An Acolyte's fist crashed into the Knight's chest plate and to it's credit the smaller Hive recovered quickly enough to duck underneath the spear swing. Two others were too slow as they were both beheaded in the single swing. As the Acolyte prepared to charge at the Fallen again it was battered to the side by the remaining Knight who blindly swung his sword at the Captain. The Fallen easily raised his spear and deflected the strike and placed two of his free hands on the Knight, shoving the larger being far enough away for him to throw the spear and impale the Knight.

The last Acolyte hesitated as it's eyes took in the recently killed group it was with. The Fallen hadn't even taken a full minute to kill all of them. Clenching it's jaw it raised it's head to watch the warrior pull the spear from the dead Knight and shake the weapon slightly to dislodge any blood. The act alone showed that the Fallen was arrogant and did not fear any of them. This thought alone enraged the Hive and it charged the large Captain.

Stepping over the corpse of an Acolyte the Eliksni took stock of the hallway he was currently in. This one caused him to pause, this seemed different than most Hive structures. A single hallway with multiple doorways lining the walls and one massive door on each end. He emerged from one end and was making his way down to the other side, his gaze sweeping any and all of the shadows.

The side doors were mostly closed, but a gut feeling told him that they would not provide him with his goal. So he ignored them and moved down at a slow and steady pace until he came across an open door. Peering inside he saw very little. Not because it was dark, but because the room was small. The only furnishings were a small slab of black rock that was reflecting what little light was in there and a small table with all assortments of tools of torture.

Avarek counted himself lucky as he peered into the room. His quarry, Thakji, was leaning heavily against the slab and had it's sword planted into the cracked floor. It's back was towards him and it was breathing heavy, providing an easy kill.

.

"Very Good! Show no mercy!"

The slightly elated voice of Lord Shaxx crackled into Jo's ear. She didn't acknowledge him, knowing he was monitoring all of the Guardians in this Crucible match. Her eyes swiveled to the side and watched as a Warlock dove behind cover. He was clearly winded and needed a moment. To take pressure off of her teammate she popped out of cover to lob a grenade and fire a few rounds at her closest enemies. They weren't close enough to be downed by the spread of buckshot but it drove them back into hiding.

With a brief reprieve she settled back onto her position on the wall and flipped her shotgun to load it with fresh casings. Racking the weapon she looked back at the Warlock.

The man was edging closer to the goal, energy from the spark he had snagged earlier wreathed around his body and making true stealth meaningless. He had obviously regained his breath as his darkened visor swung from the ground towards her and the other Guardian stacked up behind her. He sat there watching her for what seemed forever.

That was when she felt it. The need to kill. Now she knew why he was watching her instead of trying to advance.

Without making a sound she whirled around and cracked the butt of her shotgun across the top of the Hunter's head. The man dropped his hand cannon and grasped at his head in pain as he dropped to his knees. Her rage towards the Hunter drowned out almost all the sounds around her. Everything was muffled and seemed to slow as adrenaline pumped through her at an accelerated rate. She was solely focused on the man kneeling before her.

"The fuck was that for?!" The man howled at her in outrage. "I'm on your side!"

"The fuck you think you are doing back there!" It was more of a statement and less of a question. Jo had stopped paying attention and had failed to notice the clear lack of gunfire in the match. The Warlock across the clearing sat behind his cover watching the events unfold from his position of safety.

"I'm reloading and trying to cover Bean so he can make it to the goal!" The Hunter yelled back. There was a distinct and clearly offended call from the Warlock about how his name wasn't Bean. But that went ignored as well. There was even less gunfire in the area as less of their team was firing on the opposing team so they could watch this unfold.

"Does my ASS look like a bandolier to you!?" Jo shouted at him before kicking him in the groin with a void encased boot. All gunfire had ceased in the match as the opposing team was now listening in to see where this went. The Hunter dropped to the ground clutching his now throbbing junk and whimpering in pain.

Jo turned from her downed teammate to silence and nearly bumped into the imposing body of Lord Shaxx.

"Care to repeat that?" The man had his arms crossed and was glaring at her, as far as she could tell through his helmet. Jo's anger immediately dissipated at the imposing man before her. She had broken one of his cardinal rules, no friendly fire. Her shoulders sagged as her head dropped.

"Ehh…. Fuck."

"Indeed."

.

In the fading daylight the Traveler managed to look like quite the centerpiece for a beautiful backdrop. Jo's eyes traced the view with her eyes and flickered at the occasional transport or jumpship that crossed her line of sight. The peace that had settled over her she knew was only temporary here in the Tower. The normalcy of the situation calmed her even more from the situation in the Crucible earlier.

That had been a disaster for her and the Hunter, whom she called Squeaks now, having to meet with Lord Shaxx. The topic had changed multiple times as he berated the both of them for actions unbecoming of Guardians and inappropriate for a battlefield. Not even Cayde attempting to intervene had helped, in all honesty it had made the nightmare last longer and with Cayde sitting sullenly next to them as Shaxx expanded his topics.

The thought of the Veteran Hunter trying to help was nice and very appreciated. But it did nothing to improve her mood. Reaching both hands up suddenly she started rubbing the palms of her hands against her temples and her fingers through her short hair. Her anger flared slightly and she growled as the slight rubbing turned into something vigorous and frazzling her hair.

"Damnit! What is wrong with me?" Her voice was low but it was still loud enough to draw attention of a few Guardians who were lingering in the main plaza at the main Tower.

"Well I could make a few guesses." The sudden entry of a new voice startled her and she whipped around to see Raz standing not to far away with an Exo Titan. "But I prefer not to get beaten up by you." A smirk graced his face and she smiled in return.

"Get down here and we'll see about that." She crooked a finger while planting a hand on a cocked hip.

Raz nodded to her and said something quietly to the Titan before the Exo nodded and turned to leave. The man approached her and he took her extended hand. Turning her back to the railing and looking over the expanse with her. After a minute or so of silence Jo looked up at the Human's face.

"That Exo, I recognize her. Isn't she assigned to the Initial Training Unit from the Vanguard?"

"Yeah, that's Divisional Commander Saer. She was the one who trained me, remember? I ran into her when I got a call from Zavala about picking you up from what he described were supplemental lessons. What happened?" Raz looked down at her and she only stared into his eyes for a moment before remembering that he had indeed asked a question.

"Well, about that." She hesitated as she gripped his hand tighter and turned to place her back against the rail. Pulling him in front of her and grabbing his neck to pull him down to her level she placed his free hand on her rear. "Just remember that you are the only one that can touch this."

"Umm, ok?" Raz's face was flushed and he was rightfully confused. "But I don't see how that-"

"It answers everything." She cut him off. "Now what were you two talking about? I'm sure that was more interesting than what happened to me."

"Well she asked if I could get a team to investigate some missing Guardians, trainees." Jo tilted her head to the side as she looked at the man. "The Vanguard thinks that the newer Guardians are coming out too inexperienced against the Darkness, so they send them out as Strike teams into relatively controlled areas. One team went missing and she ran into me and asked if I could handle it."

"Let me guess, you are taking Sushi?" She grunted, expecting the answer before she could ask if she could go with him.

"Well, yes. I'm also taking my team, so go find Archivia and I'm going to grab Sage and Entity." Jo nodded at his comment but grabbed onto Raz before he could turn away.

"You better go change too." Her eyes went to the dark leather jacket he was wearing and Raz only chuckled.

"You know me, I change fast." He leaned in and kissed her before she let him go. Raz turned and took off, putting an extra skip in his step as he went to get ready and find the other two for this mission.

.

If only he was after an easy kill, but no warrior ever gained any skill from an easy kill. Avarek let a low growl escape from his throat. That would make this fun.

Thakji held his sword tightly as he leaned against the slab. The damned Fallen had bested him, and he barely escaped. After he had enough time to regenerate he would hunt down the problem alien and torture him personally. Thakji's breathing came out in a raspy chuckle to the thought, how the thought of him dominating the lesser creature made him feel elated.

He was never prepared for the spear tip to explode from his shoulder and a set of boots land on his back. Pinning him face first to the slab as the Eliksni recovered from his leap. A howl of pain escaped his mouth as the warrior roared in triumph. Thakji could feel his strength ebb as he tried to unsuccessfully free himself from the spear and the still mounted Fallen.

Avarek crouched low as he had his boots still planted on the Hive Knight. A throaty chuckle filled the air as it passed the helmet filters. He didn't revel in his gloating for long as he drew the Hunter's knife from before with his lower arm and with a roar he drove it into one of the hands of the Knight. The slab cracking under the sudden strike as the blade lodged itself deep within the solid substance. Thakji growled again as the pain exploded from his hand and into his arm, but he would no longer yell out for his new would-be torturer. That satisfaction would be reserved for him when he got out of this and had his way with the Eliksni.

Seeing that Thakji wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon, Avarek dismounted from his target and made his way to the torture tools. Grabbing two, he made his way back to the weakly struggling Knight and relished in the vain attempts. Pushing his pleasures aside, he looked at what he had grabbed. In one hand he held what looked like a spike, or a peg. Solid and pointy. In his other hand he held a wickedly toothed saw, he knew what he wanted to do.

Silently he rammed the peg into Thakji's free wrist. Unable to keep his own mouth closed, Thakji howled in pain. Echoing through the chamber and out the door. Too bad it sounded like all the other tortured yells of the Hive in this Hell. The Knight struggles were sluggish and not what the Eliksni was hoping for.

"Do not drift into the Storm just yet." Avarek drawled in his own tongue as he leaned closer to the struggling Knight. "The great Thunder has yet to call your name." Hearing no response, even if he didn't expect any, prompted him to quickly reach out and trigger the Arc generator on his spear.

Arc energy exploded into and all throughout the pinned Knight. The pained howl elevated a few octaves as the Knight's body was energized. The pain continued for a few more moments before Avarek toggled the switch again. Leaving the Knight pinned and wracked with spasms from the leftover energy.

"Now." Avarek gripped the wicked saw in his lower right hand. "We don't want you getting away, now do we?" He was murmuring mostly to himself as he placed the blade's teeth at the soft flesh behind the Hive Knight's left knee. Thakji grew still as he tensed for the incoming pain.

It started with the light tap of the teeth of the blade against the soft joint, followed by the scraping as it tried to pierce the chitin. Pain lanced it's way through Thakji's leg and he tried to thrash out of his impromptu bindings again. The knife and the peg tearing into the meat of his hand and wrist as he struggled. Tearing apart the muscles and forcing him to jerk back.

His reactions to pain only caused more as the spear held fast and tore more into his collar, spilling more of his blood on the experimental slab he was pinned to. His howls turned into pained shrieks as the sawing on his leg intensified and made it through the chitin. Severed muscles and tendons snapped and snaked back into the protection of his body. Rocketing fire up through his leg and causing his pain sensors to go into overdrive.

Avarek stopped shortly after a vessel burst and splattered the Knight's blood across his arm and part of his helmet. He didn't want his prey to die too quickly, or become numb to the pain. Straightening slowly he looked at his work. The left leg was limp, and all the weight was spread between the right leg and the three points pinned to the slab. Slowly dragging the Knight down and tearing away the flesh while in the process.

With a nod he looked at the remaining tools on the small slab and grabbed small cutting instruments. Looking at the saw one last time he roared before slamming the toothy end into right thigh of the dying Knight. It only elicited a groan of pain, that would never do. He quickly reached up and toggled the Arc generator again and energy lanced throughout the Knight and amplified at the conducting points made from the three objects sticking into the Knight's body.

De-energizing the spear Avarek took one of the small tools and jammed it into the exposed wound of the Knight, he would need that for later.

.

Many of the Thunder warriors were anxious as they watched the King's Skiff slowly come to a halt and lower to the landing platform at their research facility. They all held their weapons lowered but ready to raise in a moments notice to gun down any threats to them and their territory.

Baron Grutek huffed at the smaller Eliksni around him as he rested two hands on his hips and crossed the other two. He appeared to be bored and not even impressed, but the Watcher knew better. From his vantage point on a far away ledge with several other Thunder sharpshooters he could see Grutek tense slightly as a hatch opened up.

He also knew that the platform was rigged to explode in a moments notice, and Grutek held the detonator in one of his hands covered by folding his arms. Watcher hoped it would never have to come to that, as the blast would like wipe out the mountain and possibly the one he was on as well. The Thunder were that paranoid about other Houses trying to steal their technology.

Extensive countermeasures aside, he himself was nervous as well. He had only seen holo-pics of this Kell that had been ruling over the Kings and by extension the Thunder. In all these years she had never deemed them fit for a personal visit before, what changed it now? Surely she hadn't caught on to their scheming yet? His eyes peered through the scope again and noted the first of her guards to disembark onto the landing platform.

Baron Grutek watched with a masked distaste as heavily armored and armed Dreggs and Vandals left the Skiff and spread out on the landing platform. Not even asking for permission to disembark onto their territory. He knew it was a lot to ask of the King's to change their superiority complex, but he assumed that working so close with the new Kell would have changed that somewhat. Seems like both Houses had a long way to go in terms of respect.

That was when he saw him, a nervous wreck of a Captain, the one named Erunan. He had seen the Captain before, but never spoken with him. He never had a need to and doubted he still would either. He would deal with the other Baron or even the Kell directly, not the Kell's lapdog mate. He huffed again in disappointment and a scattered chortle let loose from the gathered Thunder. Several of the King's froze, Erunan especially, he seemed to pick up on the message.

He made a terrible first impression at the Thunder base.

Erunan growled and several King's slowly raised their weapons into a ready status. But he gave way to let Teira disembark. Her armor clearly that of a Hunter, but emblazoned with the mark of the Kings. She was still as small as he remembered, but she was growing. He could sense it and he gave a snort before he tucked away the detonator and made his way towards the King's landing party.

Teira had taken a quick look around after she had gotten off the Skiff. She could only look around in wonder and awe as she took in the picturesque view the base was located. But she also noted many things with her look. The Thunder were everywhere, and they were expecting trouble. She decided she needed to take a frontal approach and passed Erunan and several of her guards to reach the Baron that was more or less stalking towards her.

Habits had to die hard, right?

Eliksni were warriors and hunters, like it or not, she knew she was being sized up like prey. It was a game of cat and mouse, just that there were no mice and it was between a cat and a tiger. She had faced worse odds before, and she would do so again if she had to.

"Baron, I am glad your House agreed to host us on such short notice." She kept her hands open and in plain sight as she moved closer to the Baron. Trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

"But of course, Kell of Kings. We live to serve your House." The Baron bowed his head as she drew closer. He turned to the side and swept an arm out to gesture towards the stairs leading to the main entrance. "We hope that what meager amenities we have are to your liking."

Teira hesitated and wanted to say something, but she could imagine Erunan shaking his head at her thoughts. She nodded and fell in step with the large Baron who led the group away from the platform.

"I know it is sudden, but I have been putting this off for far too long, and I do wish to know more about what your House does." She took a sidelong glance towards the Baron who nodded and gestured at several Thunder Captains who started disbanding the armed guard.

"We will do as you ask, shall I take you to our Archon Priest who resides here? Or a brief tour of the facility?" Teira could tell he was trying to be polite, she could sense the tension in the air. Anyone could.

"We can begin with a tour, but if I may ask." She hesitated and the Baron slowed to acknowledge he was ready to answer. "Where is your Ketch? You think with a facility as important as this you would want as much protection as you could get for it." Grutek chuckled darkly.

"Well, the Ketch is the House's sign of power. We don't have it here for the safety of our work. If an… experiment goes out of control or a rival House raids the facility. It can be scuttled easily without threatening or Ketch." The Baron paused as he thought of how to go on. "Like the reports we send you, all our information is sent back to the Ketch so we never lose any progress in any of our programs.

"I see." That was clever.

 **Post A/N: Whelp... I hope you all enjoyed this, I know I'm taking longer with the whole Avarek thing, but I like him and am dragging it out on purpose. So if it bother's you, let me know and I can wrap up his little arc and move him into the next one I have planned. I had to rewrite his scene where he started the torture probably eight times, first one was borderline psychotic and a few of them after that didn't make any damned sense. So this is a watered down version, to start. Let me know if I should kick it up next chapter for the gore fans. Eeuugg... I myself have a weak stomach. Also, Entity and Avarek belong to Reilly. Archivia, Teira and Erunan belong to RC. I can't remember who Kalyvaaz belongs to... But I will investigate. So until next time! Keep on keepin' on Guardians!**


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